Transparancy

PRODUCTION/INNOVATION PARTNERS

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together” - African Proverb

The reason we started our brand is because we saw a lot of innovation in the field of circular fashion happening. So we knew it was possible, but we didn't see it coming together in accessible fashion collections yet. 

That's why we wanted to work closely together with the most innovative production partners we know and together be able to offer easy access to a circular fashion wardrobe. Together with our partners we continuously look for the newest circular solutions in materials, processes and production in order to improve and extend each garment's life. 

We connect the dots where we can and aim to share as much of the design and production process with you as possible. On this page (which is ever evolving) we introduce our partners to you. And for some more personal background information, you can also visit our journal, where we interview some of the very people we work with. 

3D SAMPLING

In the traditional, linear fashion industry fashion samples are flown around the world on a daily basis. From production facilities to brands and back and forth (and back and forth). You can imagine that the process of sampling is responsible for lots of CO2 emissions and waste.

3D sampling is a tool that gives a new generation of makers access to innovation, enabling starting brands to perfect their designs easily and communicate more effectively with their production facilities. 3D sampling makes designers more flexible and enables them to choose to work with small, local studios – making it easy to shorten the production drastically and making the ecological footprint smaller at the same time. 

At CharlieMary we proudly work on a 3D sampling pilot. Together with our partner, we have created an avatar of our model, on which we can simulate our items, without  ever physically creating them. It enables us to work digitally and save lots of resources and time.

We aim to work 100% digitally by 2025. 

RECYCLED FABRICS

ENSCHEDE TEXTIELSTAD

Enschede Textielstad produces garment and interior textiles with local and recycled yarns. All of their fabrics are produced from recycled resources, such as recycled denim, recycled workwear and upcycled cotton. Since dyeing is one of the most polluting steps in textile production, none of the Enschede Textielstad fabrics are dyed. The fabric gets its colour from the recycled content in the yarns.

Enschede Textielstad works with a production on-demand model, which helps them lower their environmental impact even more. It prevents them from producing waste and enables them to adjust the fabrics to their customer’s needs. 

The Sarah trousers in brown has been made with fabric from Enschede Textielstad, and we aim to further increase the use of their fabric in the future. 

Image:  Bibi Engelbertink

LOOP.A.LIFE

Loop.a life, also a Dutch company, develops their own yarn from post-consumer material. They do not want to use chemicals to dye their fabrics, so the colour of the yarns is obtained by carefully blending the fibres of the post-consumer textile waste that goes into them. 

They choose the production facilities they work with consciously and only work within Europe. The reason for this is twofold: it helps them lower their ecological footprint, and guarantees the people working for Loop.a life do so under good and healthy circumstances. 

The Bobby jumper is produced by Loop.a.life, with recycled yarn from textile ‘waste’ collected in The Netherlands and made with love by their production partner in Portugal. 

MADE IN AMSTERDAM

MAKERS UNITE

Makers Unite is a creative agency with a big social mission. At their Amsterdam studio, they design and produce a diversity of sustainable products. What began as a newcomer-led initiative to up-cycle 5,000 discarded life-vests into symbolic everyday products, soon grew into a globally recognized network where creative newcomers work together with local makers. 

The social enterprise is driven by social sustainability and its main aim is to support the independence of newcomers. Since its start in 2016 Makers Unite has offered development programmes to over 200 newcomers with refugee backgrounds. Their aim is to match newcomers to their next professional step within the Dutch creative industries. Makers Unite is passionate about changing the narratives of migration and inclusion.

Makers Unite produced a few of our most outspoken pieces over the last year and we aim to increase our local production with them as we grow. 

MADE IN TURKEY

KOPENHAG STUDIO

Kopenhag studio is a creative office and production agency, run by Danish designer Signe Rödbro. With a small team Kopenhag Studio manages transparent and sustainable productions through in-house facilities as well as through close cooperation with 5 local ateliers, which in their turn employ between 3-20 people.